It is effin awesome actually. The vintage cars feel a lot like GPL revisited, paired with nicer graphics and sounds, weather, a seriously great tyre physics model and hands down the best powertrain physics I've experienced so far. Im quite sure that the Monaco Rocks team lend a hand also. ;-)

On the other hand one simply has to remember that this is still in beta stadium. I've seen several graphics bugs, the installation routine is a pita so far and the content is obviously very limited. But all in all a very recommendable effort!

asked for refund after 1 hour,
I couldn't do a single lap with any car basically, FFB was awful (yes I edited controller.ini but as much as it improved it was still bad), I understand that I have a unusual wheel, but the other games I play or tested work, (RF1, Iracing, LFS, and others)

also performance on my PC was not good enough, didn't have any fun playing, the bugs are VERY frustrating... I understand that it is a beta version, but... it was just to disappointing for me.

(oh and fwiw i'll not be buying rf2 anytime soon.....i think i'll need to take a big hammer to my pc, as all i've got that meets the spec atm is the monitor, the case and the version of Windows :S friggin hell.....)

my understanding is that the £30 is for purchase of the game (a one-off payment for lifetime subscription) and 18 (i think) months of online server access. While i have read somewhere that if you choose not to pay the fee, you can still play the game offline (i believe) online access is only secured via the ID system that works with the fee payment. The site says:

Step 4a: Click Next beside Buy License in the launcher window.Step 4b: Click Next beside the type of rFactor 2 online access you would like to purchase:Buy rFactor 2 – 12 months of free access to the online matchmaker and other services. Every 12 months a further payment is required.Buy rFactor 2 with Lifetime Online Membership – Free access to the online matchmaker and other services for the lifetime of the rFactor 2 product.

you pays your money and you takes your choice, but it's a fairly safe bet that it's going to develop from a beta to a full monty and then a development with mods coming all the time and a strong online community so 'they want me to pay for a beta!!!!111' isn't quite as harsh as you make it sound ;).....i don't remember iRacing being free play when it first came out, and that's the posterboy for 'always a beta' gaming....lol

no, i know a couple of modders who are contemplating how much rework is involved in getting their rFactor content compatible with rFactor2 spec. Some of it is increased 'bling' (texture types, reflection and shadow handling and such, as well as the much increased poly-count capability of the new game engine) but some of it is fundamentals like tyre deflection and suspension (physics) modelling and the like - the best mod models would still be a good working base but there's no direct port-over as i know of atm.

That's a shame. I might hold off getting it until there is a decent complement of mods then. I just got the SP2 for Enduracers on rFactor. Superb. With that and HistoriX, i have no need for anything else for a while.....

That's a shame. I might hold off getting it until there is a decent complement of mods then. I just got the SP2 for Enduracers on rFactor. Superb. With that and HistoriX, i have no need for anything else for a while.....

definitely and thats the ongoing theme with mod games, in that you never get the greatest stuff straight out of the box.....good job really, we'd all be broke from buying 'the big new game' three times a year